1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to diagnostic systems and methods and, more particularly, to systems and methods for high speed array printing, hybridization, quantitative development and assaying.
2. Description of the Related Art
Diagnostic formats involving microarrays or biochips continue to have a broad range of applications, such as, but not limited to, the fields of genomics and proteomics, among others. These technologies not only relate to the creation of the arrays but also to their processing and assaying such as hybridization. In many cases, valuable reagents need to be effectively utilized in small quantities which can be as low in the picoliter range.
Conventional systems, technologies and processes used in and/or associated with such diagnostic applications suffer from many drawbacks. These can include procedures which are relatively slow, take considerable time and hence are unable to achieve a desirably high throughput—this not only reduces process efficiency but also undesirably adds to the cost. Moreover, it is a difficult task to effectively utilize small quantities of chemical or biological reagents and other liquids when complex steps to precisely handle, transfer, deliver and process such small liquid quantities are entailed.